Cole Whitt joins Premium Motorsports

Cole Whitt participates in 2014 NASCAR Media Day at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (photo courtesy of Getty Images for NASCAR).

By AMANDA VINCENT

Cole Whitt will drive the No. 98 Ford for Premium Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition in 2016, according to an announcement from the race team on Tuesday.

“Jay and the crew at Premium Motorsports impressed me with their vision for the future and commitment to making the No. 98 car competitive week in and week out,” Whitt said. “I look forward to being a big part of the family atmosphere at Premium and having a successful start at the Daytona 500 in a few weeks.”

Whitt has two years of experience racing full-time in the Sprint Cup Series. Last season, he drove the No. 35 Ford for Front Row Motorsports and posted a career-best finish of 13th at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He finished the 2015 season 31st in the championship standings. In all, Whitt has 86-career Cup starts, with the first two of those starts coming in 2011. Other teams for which he has raced also include Swan Racing and BK Racing.

“We believe Cole is an accomplished young driver who drives aggressively, yet smart,” Premium Motorsports owner Jay Robinson said. “He’s a great fit for our team as we look to improve our competitiveness in the Sprint Cup Series.”